How can Dwarves produce honey underground?
I have often heard/read/watched in fantasy about dwarves drinking mead and lots of it. I recently learned that mead is made from honey which requires bees and flowers which require sunlight. I doubt that they could import enough to satisfy the thirst of an entire city (or nation) and even if they could it would be financially irresponsible. So I was wondering if they could produce honey underground.
The obvious solution is that they just make the honey above-ground but lets say that going above-ground is socially unacceptable (like in Dragon Age). Lets further split it into a few separate scenarios:
- The dwarves have magic light orbs which are basically the same as sunlight. So could bees function completely underground with light and flowers.
- No magic. So could bees function underground with some torches and maybe skylights (Not sure that could work. Maybe leave a door open and hope the bees come back?).
- No light (e.g. Dwarf Fortress). Could bees work underground in total darkness (Same as above but dwarves have super-night-vision and have no need of light).
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1 answer
The dwarves can keep the bees in the caverns, but provide them with suitable exits.
You have your beekeepers on the upper levels of the cities. You'll need ventilation somehow to allow for your city to breathe, so these vents can be plenty useful for the bees to exit and re-enter. The beekeepers don't need to ever leave the caverns (Except, perhaps, to get the bees in the first place), but the bees can go out and back in with ease.
Bees usually forage for two to three miles, but they can also forage significantly further away. Presuming that while the Dwarves typically don't go outside, they also don't care for someone living on their doorstep, this means that there are plenty of wild plants for bees to use for their honey needs.
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